Book Reviews

Garrison Nelson John McCormack worked his way from South Boston’s housing projects to a leading figure in the U.S. Congress, winning 22 consecutive elections from 1928 to 1971. In 1962 he was elected the first Catholic Speaker of the House, serving nine consecutive years, a record later broken by his protégé Tip O’Neill.Written by Garrison…

Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson Written for children and young adults, Fault Lines in the Constitution is a wonderful introduction to one of the world’s enduring documents. The husband-wife team features Professor Sanford Levinson, a Harvard Law constitutional scholar and his wife Cynthia, a well-known writer of children’s literature. Together they trace the origins of…

Christine Breen Christine Breen has written a beautifully-rendered first novel that takes readers on an odyssey from Dublin and County Clare to Boston and New York and back. In 1990, an American girl studying in Dublin gets pregnant and gives up her baby Rose for adoption to an Irish couple who raise the child with…

Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson has been a voice of fairness, justice and change throughout her career. She is one of the most influential public figures in Ireland.  As first female President of Ireland (1990-’97), she spoke forcibly for women’s contraception and equal rights.  As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (’97-2002),…

Robert J. Savage Rob Savage, professor of history at Boston College, has done extensive academic research on 20th century Irish politics and media. The BBC’s Irish Troubles, combines his expertise in both areas with a nuanced, detailed examination of the BBC’s role in reporting on Northern Ireland (NI) from 1968-’88. The story is replete with…

Helen Vendler For those who cherish great literature and the writers who create it, Helen Vendler’s new collection of essays, book reviews and auto-biographical prose is a treasure. The Ocean, the Bird and the Scholar contains over two decades of thoughtful and exquisite interpretations of American writers like Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Bishop…

Íde B. O’Carroll Oral historian and writer Dr. Íde O’Carroll has conducted ground-breaking research on the lives of immigrant Irish women who came to the United States in the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s. Born in Ireland, O’Carroll lived in Boston in the 1980s, interviewing many of the women whose lives are chronicled here. She pays…

Edited by Michael Quinlin First published in 2005, this 10th anniversary edition includes 20 short stories and excerpts from a variety of master short story writers. In his Introduction, Michael Quinlin writes, “While other nations have cultivated visual arts, architecture or even cuisine to define their civilizations this race of storytellers has always used language…

Michael Coffey Michael Coffey’s first collection of short stories is a masterpiece of exquisite writing and daring revelations. His characters are overwhelmed by their inherited circumstances, poor life choices and lingering regrets, which they somehow rally to accept with poise and even grim humor. Lonely priests, rakish cognoscenti, and troubled teenagers frequent the pages, but…

Lorenz J. Finison This well-researched, well-written book traces the emergence of competitive and leisurely cycling, which was prompted by mass production of bicycles and the growth of sports in American life in the late 19th century. In Boston, African-Americans, Irish, Italians, Jews and old line New Englanders all took to the roads, strengthening ethnic and…

William E. Watson and Eugene J. Halus, Jr., Editors A broad collection of Irish-American achievement, this volume is divided into four categories: Irish-American emigration; political and economic life; cultural and religious life; and literature, the arts, and popular culture. It strives to balance historical and contemporary figures. Many Boston Irish names are included: President John…

Fiona Ritchie and Doug Orr / Foreward: Dolly Parton Wayfaring Strangers is a treasure of a book, a publishing delight.  Readers will be enthralled with this well-conceived, well-written and well-produced history about how music from Scotland and Ulster got to America, and how it flourished by reinventing itself while staying true to its roots. The…

Donal Ryan Tipperary-born novelist Donal Ryan’s novels offer insights into today’s Ireland, in the aftermath of the Celtic Tiger. The story-lines aren’t always pleasant, with recurring themes of government ineptitude and greedy, wily connivers, bullies and losers somehow made bolder by the Celtic Tiger myth that money buys happiness, or class. But while the writing is…

Patrick Taylor Author Dr. Patrick Taylor, born in Bangor County Down and now living in British Columbia, has written over a dozen popular novels that take place in the colorful Irish village Buckyballybo.   It’s old time storytelling, where the characters share the joys, complications and sorrows of village life.  In this tale, World War…

Terry Golway Noted author, journalist and academic scholar Terry Golway has steadily built up a lasting literature on the Irish perspective and role in American history and politics. He is especially animated and astute when discussing his beloved New York, a topic immense and unwieldy like the city itself. Golway’s latest book, Machine Made, offers…

Jennifer Nugent Duffy Who’s Your Paddy will cause controversy, disagreement and hopefully enlightened discussion, because the topics – whether racism is “a socially constructed response or an inherited trait?” as well as “the complexities of Irishness” – are timely and urgent. Nugent Duffy is Assoc. Professor of History at Western CT State University, and the…

Emma Donoghue Dublin-born Emma Donoghue, now living in Canada, is an award-winning author of novels and short story collections that cover a range of topics, from convent school life in Ireland and emigration to lesbian fiction and historical novels. Her writing evokes a pleasant combination of Canadian short story master Alice Munro and Irish novelist…

Christopher Klein Boston-born John L. Sullivan, the larger-than-life heavyweight boxer who dom­inated American sports lore in the late 19th century, had a fascinating life as a first generation Irish-American chasing the immigrant dream of success and fame. He achieved both, as author Christopher Klein recounts in this masterful, engaging biography of America’s first sports superstar….

Gerard O’Neill The veteran Boston Globe reporter traces the domination of Irish-Americans in 20th century Boston politics. O’Neill’s scope goes from John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, the first Irish-American mayor elected in 1906 to Ray Flynn, Boston mayor from 1984-93.  Titans like James M. Curley, Kevin White and Bill Bulger are also covered, alongside a fascinating…

James Redfearn It is 1919, the year of the infamous Boston Police strike, and rookie cop Willie Dwyer is on the beat at Roxbury Crossing. Dwyer had fled Ballinasloe, Galway a decade earlier, after being caught up in Ireland’s rebellion, and here he is now upholding a civic order that is about to come crashing…

Brendan Cronin Irish Master Chef Brendan Cronin has published his first book, Cheffin: From Potatoes to Cavier.  It’s a lively, engaging story that begins on a small dairy farm and ends in the finest hotels and restaurants in the world. Cronin, who teaches hospitality management at Endicott College, attained the prestigious Swiss Culinary title of…

Charley Rosen Veteran sports writer and author Charley Rosen has pulled together a light-hearted, anecdotal narrative of how Irish-American baseball players shaped the early days of baseball.  Some of the best players and most outlandish characters have local connections, like Mike King Kelly, the game’s first superstar, and Connie Mack (Cornelius McGilllicuddy), born in East…

Ryan Tubridy Irish journalist Ryan Tubridy tells the fascinating story of President Kennedy’s famous trip to Ireland in June 1963, which transformed both the president and the Irish people.  The book is beautifully designed and printed, which is an extra bonus as a keepsake item.  It’s available at the JFK Library gift shop in Boston….